Dispatch, Crystal Serenity: That new-car smell

ABOARD THE CRYSTAL SERENITY — For a 20-year-old ship, the Crystal Serenity has that new-car smell. 

Smelling what I could only describe as conditioned leather and a hint of air freshener as I wandered the hallway to my room, that was my first thought. While the ship is far from new, the Serenity is fresh off a $150 million refurbishment from its new owner, A&K Travel Group.

I am sailing a three-day preview voyage on the ship out of Naples, Italy, ahead of the ship’s inaugural voyage out of Marseilles, France, on July 31. 

As I kept sniffing, the hallway led me to my Sapphire Veranda Suite. The first thing I saw when I opened the door was an attractive light fixture mounted into the wall made of aqua, grey and white glass disks dotting the wall above a pullout couch, which was as blue as the deep sea.  

Then I saw sunlight shining through two sets of glass balcony doors, giving away the not-so-well-kept secret that this spacious suite was once two staterooms instead of one. 

I had been writing about the new Crystal brand resurrected by A&K Travel Group for a year and its plans to update the two-decade-old ship’s small staterooms by combining them. The move not only makes accommodations more spacious but reduces capacity to 740 guests from 980. But seeing this suite in person offers a better sense of its new size and breathability, seeing where the wall separating the spaces used to be.

In addition to a king bed, my suite includes a large walk-in closet, a two-sink bathroom, a shower big enough to fit several people and a balcony I could fit my entire family on.  

The renovations have also led to the creation of two new guestroom categories — the Junior Crystal Penthouse Suite and the Single Guest Room with Ocean View for solo travelers (without a single supplement). 

The reduced capacity also led the line to avail butler service to each suite, not just those at the top tier. I met my butler, Igor, today. He is from Croatia and worked on the Crystal Symphony for 17 years and three years on Crystal Cruises’ river ships. He said he took a break from cruising in 2020 to work in hotels but decided to return after the new Crystal sent him a letter urging him to come back. 

The Crystal brand and this 51,400-gross-ton ship have been through a lot in the last year and a half. The Serenity and the Symphony were under arrest in the Bahamas after Crystal Cruises collapsed in early 2021. A&K Travel Group then acquired the ships, along with the Crystal Cruises brand and guest list, and began making extensive renovations at the Fincantieri’s shipyard in Trieste, Italy, and tried to attract its former crew back to the ships.  

Seasoned Crystal cruisers I’ve met here said they see changes throughout the vessel, such as the redone Umi Uma restaurant. My favorite space so far is the fashion-forward Bistro with olive green tones and an accent wall of tropical trees lit up by wall lamps that look like long-tailed birds. 

Now if only I can figure out exactly where that new-car smell is coming from.

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